


All in a Winter's Tale

by DaimeryanRei



Category: Thor: Tales of Asgard
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-11
Updated: 2014-01-11
Packaged: 2018-01-08 09:43:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1131112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaimeryanRei/pseuds/DaimeryanRei
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The young Odinson brothers go on an adventure, going past the safe borders of Asgard. When things take a turn for the worse, Loki proves himself to be much harder than Thor would ever think.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All in a Winter's Tale

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dillian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dillian/gifts).



**All in a Winter’s Tale**

\----------------------------------

“Thor, we shouldn’t be here.”  
“Shhh, Loki, or the beast will hear us.”

Huddled together in a vain attempt to find shelter from the biting snow, the two youngsters hiding in the shrubs kept their eyes peeled for any hostile signs from the beast in front of them. It was a young Frost Beast, not having reached maturity yet. Still, even for its young age, it was quite large and would possibly tower over Thor and Loki when standing up. Its horn wasn’t completely developed and hardened, still it looked impressively tough and menacing.

“I don’t think this is a good idea, brother.”  
“Shhh, Loki. Do you want it to hear us?” Thor licked his lips, a habit he displayed only during the hunt. He didn’t notice he was aggravating the poor condition of his lips, as chafed as they already were from the intense cold. Jotunheimr was a hostile, dangerous environment, but when the eldest son of Odin, All-Father and Ruler of Asgard, had something stuck in his mind, come hell or high water, he was going to see through it all to accomplish his thoughts.

And his mind had settled on a trophy from Jotunheimr, to show his prowess as a hunter, his worth as heir to the throne, his honor as an Odinson. A bilgesnipe wasn’t enough, no, everyone with the least of hunting skills could kill a bilgesnipe (though Loki never trusted the stories of the Warriors Three about that. He’d read about bilgesnipes and how sharp and dangerous their antlers were. It was nothing like ‘shoot an arrow in its heart and be done with it’, but of course Thor lapped those stories up, impressed and jealous of such great success) and to come home with a felled Frost Beast would certainly raise everyone’s respect.

But was it worth it? Loki was worried. His brother had the tendency to go head over heels into a situation, and Thor’s plans were far from strategic. He even had suggested going head-on with the beast, and it had taken Loki all of his ability with word to convince Thor that no, that wasn’t a good approach. How could his brother be so reckless? 

He had to acknowledge though, that Thor had good hunting skills. He had tracked down the Frost Beast on his own, leading the way. He had found its nest, and stayed out of the wind so they were able to approach it without any difficulties. Now, was only the problem of how to attack it and kill it - and take it home. Loki was already dreading that moment; after one look at the beast, it was pretty obvious it was heavy. Very heavy. 

A metallic sound disrupted his thoughts. Thor unsheathed his sword, a gift from his friends, the Warriors Three: Fandral the Dashing, Volstagg the Valiant, Hogunn the Grimm. Excellent warriors, hence their name, and loyal to the All-Father and his sons. They were in charge of training both Thor and Loki in the arts of war: fighting, tactics, strategy, negotiations. But where Loki was interested in the tactical part of fighting, Thor had picked up a sword and a shield and had never abandoned his weapons ever since. Sure, he liked to rush in first, but his strength at such a young age was impressive and uncommon; the Warriors Three talked about him with awe and admiration. And about Loki? 

“Remember brother, you stay here.” Thor’s eyes brimmed with the excitement of battle and a victory sure in sight. “I’ll take it down.”  
“But Thor…”  
“Have your bow and arrows ready.”  
“Are you sure..?”  
“Always so careful.” Loki flinched a little from the disdain in Thor’s words. He knew his brother didn’t mean it like that. Just like his strength, Thor was strong with his words, not realizing how painful they could be. Thor was like a rock, no matter how you looked at him: strong, fierce, unmoving. “You’re not made for battle, brother. There’s no dishonor in using bow and arrows. The finest warriors are those who can bring down their prey with just one arrow.”  
“Please Thor, you don’t have to patronize me.” Grabbing his bow, Loki angrily pulled an arrow out of his quiver.  
“Patronize you? What are you talking about?”  
“You know what I’m talking about.” He turned a little away so Thor wouldn’t see the annoyance on his face. “You’re the strongest, you’re the best, you’re the most amazing warrior.”  
“That’s not true, brother.”  
“Is it not? Then what tales reach my ears, _brother_ , from the Warriors Three when you have finished your training on the exercising grounds?”

Thor widened his eyes, finally understanding what Loki was referring too. He simply pulled a smile, slapping his brother on the shoulder, ignoring the other one wheezing under his massive strength. “Brother! You shouldn’t be worried! The Warriors Three talk about you with the highest of respect!”  
“Sure.” Loki winced again, but now from the sound of his own voice, like a petulant child. Sometimes he wished he wasn’t so perceptive, that he couldn’t read everyone’s faces and that he would never know what was going on in someone’s mind. He was, is and would always be the weakest one. He had never heard these talks of ‘the highest of respect’, he had only heard the snickering of those who gossiped about his training with Frigga, the All-Mother, which had nothing to do with fighting, but everything with seidr- magic. 

“Never mind.” Now his voice had changed into an aggressive note, wanting to get this over with. Their presence only would be enough for Laufey, ruler of Jotunheimr, to seek war with Odin. It had been an exciting thought at first: travel to this realm, kill a Frost Beast, go back and enjoy the victory. Now Loki’s not so sure anymore. Watching Thor with that gleam in his eyes, and his breath forming clouds in the chilly sky, didn’t bring out any excitement in him, just weariness.

“All right, I’m going!” Thor kept his voice hushed, and after speaking his words, he moved forward. For such a tall young man, armed with a sword and shield, Thor could be pretty silent. His heavy boots sank into the thick layer of snow, still his footsteps made barely any sound. The dark, metallic-blue colors of this landscape matched the metal of his armor; not even Thor was as stupid as to venture into Jotunheimr without any kind of protection. Loki held his breath as he noticed his brother progressed through the shrubs, keeping his bow and arrow at hand.

Moments of silence passed. Long moments, in which Thor didn’t seem to progress at all. He took his time to approach the beast, crouching and hiding in the shrubs when he thought the animal would notice his presence. Loki waited and waited, patiently, ready to immediately provide back-up with his bow and arrows when necessary. 

It seemed to sleep. It had been moving around not long ago, but now it was laying down, large paws outstretched, showing off the hard, scale-like skin. Bilgesnipes had similar skin, but Frosts Beasts were believed to even have harder scales on their body. The simple suggestion of throwing fire at them was always laughed at; it was nearly impossible to create fire in Jotunheimr due to the ghastly cold temperatures, let alone to keep the fire going. No, only hard steel would slay a monster like this; it was for honor and bravery only, as the meat was inedible to Asgardians. 

Thor moved closer and closer. Taking his time was paying off, as the Frost Beast hadn’t noticed his presence and felt comfortable enough to sleep. He lowered his own breathing, forcing himself to stay focused and totally in control. Using every lesson the Warriors Three had taught him, Thor sneaked up on the animal undetected. The thick scales glistened in the watery sun, mirroring the metallic shine of this foreign realm. He held his breath, preparing for the fatal stab. Right there, on the backside, just below the large shoulder blades, was the perfect place to sink his sword into. The scales weren’t as thick there, as to keep the shoulders flexible enough to move: one of the very few weak spots of a Frost Beast. Thor was sure he hadn’t made a sound. Lifting up his sword, he focused on that particular spot, ready to thrust…

…. with one quick move, the Frost Beast swiped its large tail, hitting Thor right in his ankles. To Thor’s great fortune, the beast wasn’t strong enough to sweep him off his feet, but he lost his balance for just a moment, letting out a short gasp of surprise. The beast rolled around so fast that it faced Thor with its mouth wide open, showing off its razor-sharp teeth. Thor took a step backwards, breaking out in a sweat. How could the beast have heard him? Was its hearing so keen, was it so intelligent to pretend to be asleep while being aware that someone was sneaking up on it? 

Thor had to rethink his tactic, but the Frost Beast didn’t allow him the time and jumped at him right away. Lifting up his shield, Thor barely deflected the attack, the sharp teeth missing him with mere inches. Half of his shield was scratched, almost torn in two, and he breathed heavily. An arrow raced past him, bouncing off of the hard skin. The beast shook its head and its prying eyes went to the shrubs. 

“Loki, back off!” Thor threw his mauled shield to the ground and took a fighting stance, holding the sword with both hands. As soon as the beast would run towards him, he would take the opportunity to hit it right in the mouth - another weak spot. Thor flexed his muscles, concentrating all his strength. The beast turned its head to him, narrowing its eyes. Pure hate and aggression, a beast bred to survive this harsh landscape, this hostile environment, this scathing cold. Thor forgot about his chafed lips, the cold shivering through him, the tension of his body. He only had one chance. 

But it didn’t happen. Instead of attacking him, the Frost Beast turned around and dove right into the shrubs. For a moment, Thor thought that it was fleeing, until the horrible truth dawned to him right away. It was going for Loki! 

“Loki..!” He roared, but the only thing he saw, was his brother standing nailed to the ground, hurrying to draw another arrow. “Run, you fool! Run! RUN!”

The beast was fast, and no arrow in the world would’ve been able to hold it off. Loki dropped his bow and arrow and tried to turn around in a last ditch effort to run, but the animal had already reached him. With its horn, it drilled itself into Loki’s side, lifting him up from the ground. 

“Loki, no!” Thor yelled, but his voice wasn’t reaching far enough to drown out Loki’s terrified scream of agony. With the sword in his hand, Thor started hacking at the Frost Beast, no longer concerned with strategy or tactics, but in blind panic to help his brother. “Loki!”

He didn’t mind the impact of the beast’s tail, hitting him over and over again. He didn’t feel the pain, he didn’t notice his armor tearing under the violent force. Thor stabbed and hacked, plunged his sword into the skin, drawing blood, but not enough for the beast to let go of Loki. Finally, with another huge slash from its tail, it hit Thor so hard in the ribs that he dropped his sword and fell to the ground. Immediately, he tried to get up, wheezing hard from having the wind knocked out of him.

Thor reached for his bloodied sword at the same moment the Frost Beast dropped Loki. As if it had been toying around and lost its interest, it turned its head to Thor and snorted. This was it. If he had ever thought he was going to die, he hadn’t imagined it would be during the hunt. At least he was going to be killed by a Frost Beast, and not a bilgesnipe. He managed to grasp the pommel of his sword as the beast was moving towards him - and brushed past him. Taken aback, Thor watched the beast go back to its nest, where it lied down. Was it dying? Had he injured it enough to succumb to its wounds? It didn’t matter.

“Loki!” Thor didn’t keep his voice down. Forcing himself to get up, he made his way over to Loki, lying on the ground, his hands on his side. “Loki, I’m so sorry! Loki, please answer me!”

Carefully, Thor tried to pry Loki’s hands away. Blood dripped through his fingers, but they were also enveloped with a faint, greenish light; an obvious sign of magic. Thor frowned, but didn’t comment - he saw that Loki was trying to keep the wound from spilling more blood. It was a fairly deep wound tract; he needed healing, and soon. 

“How much…?” Thor asked. Loki’s face was even paler than usual, and it took him quite some time to find his voice back.

“I cannot hold on for much longer,” he said. “M-mother has taught me just the basics…”

“Don’t overexert yourself.” Thor stood back up, holding back a wince of pain. He was bruised and battered all over. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Wait!” Loki reached for him. “We don’t have much time. I think… I think…”

“What?” 

“I think it’s going to call for its parents,” Loki said, voice trembling. “We didn’t manage to kill it. Now it’s going to kill us, for dinner.”

“That’s not going to happen! Wait here, I’m going to get our provisions.”

“No! No Thor, we have to get out of here! Now!”

“You can barely walk!”

“Can you?” Loki’s voice was nothing but a whisper, but Thor heard him. He felt a little ashamed. He wasn’t in such great condition either. In fact, now that the adrenaline had worn off, the pain rushed back and he had to grit his teeth to keep himself from groaning. His body was bruised and everywhere the tail had hit him, the scales had drawn cuts and scrapes all over his skin. He wasn’t bleeding as profusely as Loki, but the sheer strength of the beast had battered him all over. His knees buckled. 

“We’ll make it out of here,” Thor said, confident as always.

“Only if we ask for Heimdall to open up the Bifröst,” Loki said in return, his breathing uneven. “And didn’t we disguise ourselves from his watchful eye, as to keep our trip a secret?”

Thor’s face reddened even more. “Yes, it’s my fault,” he said. “I wanted to do this, brother, I dragged you into this. But I’m not going to leave you here, and we’re going to get home again!”

“Then we have to move fast,” Loki reminded him. In the far distance, a throaty, deep rumbling was heard. “I think that mom and dad are coming for the feast.”

“Let’s go.” Thor moved his arm under Loki’s shoulder, and lifted him up. The movement caused great pain for Loki, and he lost his focus on his healing spell, causing the blood to flow. He cried out, but grabbed tightly onto Thor to find his balance. 

“It’s a long way,” Loki said after he had regained his composure. His eyes darted off to his bow and arrows, and the provisions they had brought along. Their only weapon was Thor’s sword; it would take too much time to retrieve everything, and the deep rumbling was getting closer fast. “I’m not sure if we’ll make it.”

“We’ll make it. Come on!” Thor stepped forward, taking Loki with him. Blood soaked through his clothing, now that his armor had fallen off. Without its weight, they moved faster, but not fast enough by far. Holding onto each other, they stumbled, almost fell, stumbled again, their movements clumsy. Thor’s boots plowed through the snow, whereas Loki walked on top of it; their height difference wasn’t helping to support each other, and both had to deal with incredulous pain. Not a complaint or another scream of pain came over Loki’s lips, and they both panted, their breathing heavier and heavier.

“How..far… still?” Loki wheezed. Thor’s teeth rattled from the cold, his face red from frostbite, and it took a while for him to find his voice.

“That mountain over there,” he pointed with his sword. “The passageway is over there!”

Loki looked over his shoulder. The rumbling had gotten closer, along with the ominous sounds of trampling, heavy footsteps. The parents had returned to their young, and of course they noticed its injuries - now they were hunting the hunters, and even though Loki had never read about Frost Beasts consuming human flesh, he wasn’t going to be the one to find out.

“We have to move faster, Thor,” he said. And then, whispering: “Let go of me.”

“What?” Thor wasn’t deaf, he had heard the noises as well, and he had heard Loki’s whispering. 

“You’re the heir, the eldest son,” Loki said. “Let go of me. You go to the passageway.”

“Don’t you dare,” Thor breathed, “don’t you dare!” Calling upon the last of his strength, Thor dragged and pulled Loki along. “Come on!” He yelled, he roared, drawing upon his last ounce of strength. Stumbling and fumbling, blood spattered all over the shrubs around them, on the cold ground, marring the snow with red drops, slashing through the pristine white layer. 

The pain turned in pure agony, the blood loss turned their bodies into weak, slow vessels with the increasing noises of the approaching Frost Beasts behind them. Thor’s chafed lips turned into raw, bloody messes from biting down on them, and Loki’s face, paler than a ghost, appeared to have no more skin on it, his skull pronounced and eerie, with his eyes completely sunken. 

“Movemovemove…” It was Thor, repeating it to himself like a mantra. He had lost his sword somewhere, shedding all of the weight to make himself move faster, but he couldn’t let go of Loki. They were both dragging each other, slowing each other down, their legs and feet entwined, and every step was painful, every breath was horror, and the passageway disappeared from Thor’s sight. He blinked, his eyes watery from the cold wind beating his face, and there it was - the dark rock cracked open like an eggshell. 

“We’re there, Loki!” The ground shook. The beasts were close. Thor tugged and pulled, Loki nothing more than a puppet whose strings had been cut, yet he still managed to get one foot in front of the other, and with their last efforts, they all but rolled into the passageway, the crack too small for the beasts to follow. Thor took a few small steps and fell to the ground, together with Loki. “We’re safe… Loki!”

Loki turned his head towards Thor, sickly pale. A small smile was all that he could offer, but he looked relieved. It had been a narrow escape, and they were in dire need of healing, but this was one fantastic story to tell the others; Loki had no doubt about who was going to tell the story - he didn’t mind, as he preferred to stay on the background anyway. But their ordeal wasn’t over. He could hear Thor’s labored breathing, during their running he had seen all those cuts and bruises, and the intense frostbite on Thor’s exposed skin. 

Before he could suggest to move on, to quickly return to Asgard and to the Healing Rooms, the male Frost Beast rammed into the opening of the passageway, and the mountain shook. Rock came raining down and they both moved their arms to protect themselves from the debris.

“Hurry, hurry!” Loki croaked. Thor picked him up, but both Odinsons couldn’t stand on their feet. Crawling, they moved forward inch by inch, while the enraged beast rammed the mountain once again. Thor didn’t have any strength left. He was on his arms and knees, and Loki wasn’t faring much better. They tried to encourage each other, but their strength was fleeting. “Move… come on… move… hurry…” Their voiced died. Thor didn’t realize his head had hit the ground. Loki was lying behind him, just a few inches away. It couldn’t end like this. They couldn’t die here. Not here. Not ever. A light. A light in the distance. Had the Frost Beast broken through? Would it trample them, bite them to death? 

“They’re here!” A voice, a familiar voice. Fandral? Hogun? 

“Kill it!” A loud voice, and soldiers running past, in full royal armor, while warm hands touched his shoulder. 

“We were so worried! Where is your brother? Loki.. oh, Loki! There he is!”

Warmth. And darkness.

\---------------------------------------

“Shhh, Loki.”

“It’s all right.”

He turned his head, to find the source of the sound, and as he opened his eyes he saw both his mother and Thor sitting next to his bed. Blearily, he blinked a few times. Thor smiled at him, and Frigga held a cloth in her hands, that she used to dab at his brow. 

“What..?”

“You had a mild fever,” his mother explained to him. “You’re all right now. You’ll feel a bit weak the next couple of days, but with some rest, you’ll be back to full health soon enough.”

Loki noticed something heavy on his hand, and he craned his neck to see what it was. He should’ve known - it was Thor’s hand. 

“How do you feel?”

“Tired,” Loki said. “What happened? When we were in the passageway…”

“Heimdall saw us,” Thor explained, avoiding looking at Frigga. “I guess you were unable to keep up the spell that hid us from his view. It was a good thing, because the moment he saw us, he send help. The royal guards were able to kill the beast and take us to the Healing Rooms.”

“Loki, I haven’t taught you that spell,” Frigga said, her voice stern. “I don’t want you to use it ever again. In fact, I believe I will not teach you illusion spells for a while, but healing spells. What you did, was quite impressive. Thanks to your healing magic, you kept both yourself and Thor alive.”

“I… I didn’t know what to do,” Loki said. 

“You’re still so young, you have more than time enough to learn.” Frigga tucked him in, without disturbing the two hands holding together. “But we’ll focus on healing, young man. I don’t want to find my sons dead in some gruesome, cold passageway… which I didn’t know it existed, and neither did your father. I’m disappointed, Loki, Thor… you both have taken great risks.”

“Yes mother,” both boys answered. A soft smile tugged at her lips, but Frigga wasn’t to be fooled. 

“Your father will talk to you about this as well,” she said. “For now, you can rest up. I’ll have the servants bring you some food.”

“Thank you mother,” Loki said as he felt Thor squeeze his hand. This was only a mild lecture, but they don’t fear Frigga. That would be Odin’s lecture, delivered in the Throne Room, accompanied by a fitting punishment. Patiently, they waited for their mother to leave the room - and then, Thor let out a huge sigh of relief. 

“I’m glad you’re okay, brother.”

“What about you?” 

“The bruises and cuts disappeared after one treatment already,” Thor said. “That wasn’t so bad. But you… you had such a deep wound. There was so much blood. Mother said that if you hadn’t used that healing spell so quickly to keep the wound closed, you would… you would’ve bled out on the spot, and died.”

Loki shivered, despite the heat in the room. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what? I could’ve died. Your healing magic touched me as well when we were running from the beasts. It gave me the strength I needed to keep going, otherwise I would’ve fallen to the ground, exhausted and bleeding to death.”

“We’re never going to Jotunheimr again,” Loki said. Thor squeezed his hand again. 

“Don’t worry. You need to rest up. Besides, I haven’t heard of any other fantastic beast yet to hunt down.”

“Thor…!”

He grinned at Loki. “Don’t worry,” he said again. “Everyone knows how brave you were, and how you withstood the cold and frost. I told everyone how you held on and kept going, despite your injuries. You’re a real hero, brother.” Finally, he withdrew his hand and tucked Loki’s arm under the fur blankets. “Rest up. I’ll be back later, all right?”

He didn’t wait for Loki to answer. Loki didn’t mind. He felt exhausted from Thor’s short visit, but there was a smile on his face that wouldn’t leave.

_You’re a real hero, brother._ He fell asleep.

\--------------------------- 


End file.
